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Distribution of water in the United States as a: Function of hardness
Author(s) -
Leenerts Lester O.
Publication year - 1959
Publication title -
journal of the american oil chemists' society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.512
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1558-9331
pISSN - 0003-021X
DOI - 10.1007/bf02637905
Subject(s) - water softening , population , distribution (mathematics) , hard water , standard deviation , softening , geography , environmental science , mathematics , statistics , demography , chemistry , mathematical analysis , organic chemistry , sociology
Conclusion A study has been made of the hardness of the water throughout the United States in regard to its distribution by states and by total population. The purpose was twofold: a) to determine the range of performance necessary for a soap or synthetic detergent product in order to be satisfactory to the majority of the population and b) to determine the areas of distribution for products of varying performance characteristics in respect to water hardness. The study has taken into consideration municipal water‐treatment for the urban population, the distribution of rural population, and the distribution of home water‐softeners. The mean water‐hardness found in the United States, ignoring the home softening‐units, was estimated to be 136.6 p.p.m. with a standard deviation of 90.9 p.p.m. Twenty‐one states, including the District of Columbia, were found to have a weighted average hardness under 100 p.p.m. In general, the hardest natural water is found in a narrow belt covering the states of South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.